So far I'm not impressed...

Bill, cut your losses. This is a lost cause, and there is no point wasting quality time with it.

If a guy is entirely satisfied with a $30 knife, it will be difficult for them to see things YOU appreciated in a knife that is WORTH far more. Why that person would hang out in a forum that does not ever discuss knives like he is entirely satisfied with, it a telling matter (see above) ;)
 
Yeah, yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah. When any of my knives start to fall apart, I'll be sure all of you are the first to know. In the meantime, just keep plunking down 500 bucks for knives that don't cut a bit better than mine. You expensive knife guys sure are touchy. :rolleyes::p
 
ichor said:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah. When any of my knives start to fall apart, I'll be sure all of you are the first to know. In the meantime, just keep plunking down 500 bucks for knives that don't cut a bit better than mine. You expensive knife guys sure are touchy. :rolleyes::p
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I was simply stating what you're paying for. If you enjoy what you purchase that's all that matters. No need to come into the conversation and add nothing but sarcasm to it.
 
unit said:
. Why that person would hang out in a forum that does not ever discuss knives like he is entirely satisfied with, it a telling matter (see above) ;)
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Oh don't you worry. I got here by accident and won't be back, so you guys can waste your money, pat each other on the back, congratulate yourselves on your superiority, with no further interference from someone with a different opinion. :p
 
The nerve of you.... I'm insulted you call me touchy. Lol. Seriously. I dont own a crk. To much $$ for me. my military was stiff new but with a little use it is perfect now and has zero blade play. Some people freak out when a new knife isn't perfect and I think they just have bad misconceptions about new knives. It okay for a new knife to be stiff.
 
The whole point is that I enjoy my expensive knives.
I can live just fine without ever owning a knife (or just getting by with a $5 blade for utility purposes), so it is all just a luxury item anyways.

It is a hobby just like any other, and really not that expensive as far as hobbies go. CRK is becoming my gateway into the next level of knives now, and I want to get a Rockstead (great thread going on right now) and a Shirogorov.

CRK is just seen as something more than a knife to so many people, and then they are upset that it turned out to just be a knife.
Normal people don't care how much your knife costs, and no one will think you are cooler for owning a pocketknife.

If you think a Sebenza is going to make you faster, smarter, and better looking, you probably won't be happy when you find out that for $500, all you got was a pocketknife.
But it will be one of the greatest pocketknives ever made.
 
ichor said:
Oh don't you worry. I got here by accident and won't be back, so you guys can waste your money, pat each other on the back, congratulate yourselves on your superiority, with no further interference from someone with a different opinion. :p
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I see you live in Boise. Go get a FREE tour of the CRK factory. See for yourself what goes into the knives, form an educated opinion, then come back and talk to us.
 
bhyde said:
Sorry, but you have no idea what you are talking about..It IS relevant..they are both put together from machined parts.. Have any experience with that? No? I do
Are those $30-50 knives machined to the same tolerances and specs and materials as CRK?
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Exactly. This whole argument is ridiculous as far as I'm concerned. It should have stopped at the first few break in period posts. I get the feeling the OP just doesn't want his CRK and that's fine but he also seems unwilling to listen to give it "break in" time.
 
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A lot of posts about break in . The new washers have a fraction of the surface area of the original Sebenza washers . So you could assume less surface area means less break in . Never had a Sebenza that required a break in . Larry
 
I have never been able to figure out, how to some the quality of knives like the Sebenza is crystal clear, and to others it is cloudy as mud. The 1st time I handled a high end knife(which happened to be a Sebenza) I knew there was no going back.
 
Peter Hartwig said:
I have never been able to figure out, how to some the quality of knives like the Sebenza is crystal clear, and to others it is cloudy as mud. The 1st time I handled a high end knife(which happened to be a Sebenza) I knew there was no going back.
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Well, I owned (and handled several others) a CRK and did not really "get it"

I was totally satisfied with knives that were all about cutting performance and far less about build performance (I.e. They had sloppy pivots but would cut stuff very well). So, I understand the thoughts of some of these posters. What I do not understand is why they want to walk into a room that is very polarized in mood and act as if that mood is wrong. It's a bit like walking into a room and taking a dump on the rug.

I get it, you are satisfied with less, fantastic! Be on your way because you won't convince any of your wisdom...but you may eventually educate yourself as to the appreciation of tighter tolerances (or not).

In the end, it is a tangible difference that cannot be argued. The VALUE can be debated, but only if you have proper understanding of the difficulty associated with achieving the difference!
 
Just some further thoughts.

I see the break-in period as similar to when you buy really good leather boots, or even real cotton jeans. You pay with some time for what is a better product in the long run. Those 50% spandex walmart jeans fit right away, as do many cheap boots, but neither has the longevity. Essentially I would prefer a high quality product that needs to be broken in to be perfect, than a cheap product that starts perfect and then quickly wears out. CRK errs on the side of caution when it comes to their tolerances. They would rather send out a tight knife, that will break in, than a loose knife that will develop play.

Anways....there is always the chance you got a factory defect, so it might be best to discuss with CRK directly, if the help and information put forth so far doesn't seem to jibe with your issues.
 
unit said:
Bill, cut your losses. This is a lost cause, and there is no point wasting quality time with it.

If a guy is entirely satisfied with a $30 knife, it will be difficult for them to see things YOU appreciated in a knife that is WORTH far more. Why that person would hang out in a forum that does not ever discuss knives like he is entirely satisfied with, it a telling matter (see above) ;)
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I'm sorry..It was a moment of weakness to try in my previous post in this thread (could not finish as the forum is having some issues lately.)

ichor said:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah. When any of my knives start to fall apart, I'll be sure all of you are the first to know. In the meantime, just keep plunking down 500 bucks for knives that don't cut a bit better than mine. You expensive knife guys sure are touchy. :rolleyes::p
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That's why you are on a knife enthusiast forum..to extoll the virtues of knives..Good to know

LarryM said:
Why not post it on the Internet , he got a knife with a problem . Larry
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Not much experience with customer service I am assuming? The first post out of the gate is to run to the internet rather than to call up the manufacturer to see if there is a real issue or a perceived issue...To see IF there was an issue, if the manufacturer would be given an opportunity to take care of it.

ichor said:
Oh don't you worry. I got here by accident and won't be back, so you guys can waste your money, pat each other on the back, congratulate yourselves on your superiority, with no further interference from someone with a different opinion. :p
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Im sure nobody here cares about a different opinion as we have ours. I definitely have an opinion...Just not sure why someone who hates expensive knives would choose to spend so much time in this sub?

LarryM said:
A lot of posts about break in . The new washers have a fraction of the surface area of the original Sebenza washers . So you could assume less surface area means less break in . Never had a Sebenza that required a break in . Larry
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I have bought alot of new CRK folders- Never had one that didn't require a break in. Not one
Even some of the used ones needed some cycling to glide open as I expect them to.
 
There is a thread on another forum about breaking in. A lot of positive responses about getting a better knife and bonding with your knife
 
johnnytoxin said:
I see you live in Boise. Go get a FREE tour of the CRK factory. See for yourself what goes into the knives, form an educated opinion, then come back and talk to us.
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OR....walk it into the shop and see what they have to say. Seems a better route to get the situation resolved....
 
blade man said:
OR....walk it into the shop and see what they have to say. Seems a better route to get the situation resolved....
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The Post you referred to was by someone else who does live in Boise, ID. I'm the original poster and I live in Florida.

I wouldn't be the least bit upset if every single Chris Reeve knife needed a break in period. But that isn't the case. Some come from the factory buttery smooth, others don't. This evening after everyone goes to bed I'm going to take the knife apart and clean it out and lube it up. I'll contact CRK about the lack of a Birthday Card tomorrow and see what they say about things.

Thanks everyone for weighing in on this. I think my frustration is based on always seeming to get the one knife that needs to be broken in or has some problem. New to the knife game. Bought a Kershaw Camber for work last year day it became available, so dull I could drag it across my palm and not cut me. Received a Spyderco LW Manix 2 with S110V came in so tight it would hardly open, something still isn't right with the knife, should send it back to Spyderco. Received a ZT0562CF and you almost couldn't get it open using the flipper out of the box. It took weeks of flipping it as much as possible to get it to being acceptable. Still not the "best manual flipper" I've seen several people post around the net about that knife. So when I finally got the money to buy a CRK I just assumed that I' get perfection out of the box. And when it didn't happen, I was pissed because they didn't even come close. I'm sure if Chris had put his hands on this knife that he wouldn't have let it leave the factory because if someone older or weaker like my dad would have bought this knife there is no way he would have been able to open it one handed. For me I buy a knife to use, not to have to break it in for weeks or months on end for it to become what we paid for it to start with.

Thanks again for your thoughts and opinions.

Rick
 
It could be as simple as having too much grease in the pivot. When you rebuild it after teardown, make sure to only use a very light film of grease. Also, make sure to do the reassembly the recommended way, slabs together first and then slide the blade (with washers) in between the slabs. It makes a big difference to do it this way.

ETA - you will have to give it a few good flicks after reassembly. It will probably feel very stiff until you do so.
 
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I purchased two 21's this summer. My new one was fairly stiff. The used one very smooth. If you think the new 21 is stiff, try a new Grayman Dua. Is easing up somewhat with repeated opening/losing, but at the beginning, even younger and stronger guys where I work had difficulty deploying that blade...;-)
 
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